1995-01-07 04:00:00 PDT Berlin -- Americans who have waited more than 60 years for the interest on German bonds dating from before World War II now have a firm promise to get back at least some of their money by 2010.

Advertisements in some U.S. newspapers this week advise Americans who hold four types of German Reich bonds, dating from 1924 to 1930, on how to exchange them for new issues from the Federal Republic of Germany.

The new bonds mature Oct. 3, 2010, and pay 3 percent annual interest until then. Or they may be sold for 36 percent to 40 percent of face value, depending on the issue.

It's not the best little earner these days but better than zero, which is what the bonds looked like when Adolf Hitler stopped payment in the 1930s.

Many original bond-holders or their heirs already received repayments of principal. What is at issue now is interest that was not paid for varying periods between 1937 and 1952, and back interest to 1990.

Germany's Federal Debt Administration still is trying to identify Americans believed to be eligible to claim $4.3 million out of a total of $31.7 million set aside for two of the bond issues. About $5 million is unclaimed from $7.6 million for the other two bonds.

The bonds involved include the German External Loan of 1924, called the Dawes Loan; the German International Loan of 1930, called the Young Loan; and the 1926 and 1927 External Sinking Fund Dollar Bonds of the State of Prussia. The loans were in-vain attempts to stabilize German finances after World War I, when it was paying war reparations.

Claimants need proof of original ownership or a chain of legitimate sales.